


In That Moment, I Knew You Better

by tinylights



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, I'm Sorry, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-05-21 10:30:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 5,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14913696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinylights/pseuds/tinylights
Summary: Should this be the last thing I see,I want you to know it’s enough for me-‘Cause all that you are is all that I’ll ever need.So in love.(ed sheeran, tenerife sea)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a fic made up of musings on what happened during Vision and Wanda’s two years in hiding.
> 
> Much love,
> 
> tinylights ~

A soft, cool touch ran across the back of her hand. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the heel of her palm and sat up, warm and comfortably curled in a pile of crumpled blankets on an otherwise bare mattress that rested upon the floor. Rain softly hushed the room, pattering on the shivering window panes.

She saw his face, earnest and open and visible only by the quiet contrast of moonlight and dancing shadow.

He knelt next to her on the floor, keeping watch while she slept. He seemed surprised that she had awoken, and apologetic for it. She smiled sleepily, reaching out for his palm and closing it in both of hers. She shuffled her legs back into her nest of blankets and brought his hand to her cheek as she drifted away from wakefulness to the music of the rain and the palm of one who looked human but wasn’t quite there resting against her face.

 

..

 

They had a bit of money, but they did not use much in those first few months.

All she needed was him, and he knew that. He knew that, but accepting it was a different story entirely.

He brought her breakfast every morning, from the tiny bakery on the first floor of their home. Sometimes a muffin, sometimes a scone- always with a tiny jar of jelly on the side, always with a black coffee that he knew she needed to ever wake up in the morning.

He was certain of very few things. This was one of them.

He told Wanda this when she asked about his morning habit. She giggled.

 

..

 

The mattress that had been given to them with their small flat on the day of its purchase was far too big to be meant for any one person. Aside from the Hulk, perhaps.

He made this observation the moment they had stepped through the door for the first time.

He noticed, and it terrified him.

So, he bought her blankets. Too many for an entirely conventional bed, perhaps, but he had to fill the space somehow.

Wanda didn’t seem to mind. If she did, she simply didn’t mention it. She used every single blanket, every single night.

 

..

 

They began to fill the room with furnishings, slowly but surely. New paint for the walls, a real bed frame, a small table, a potted plant.

Each addition made their stay a bit more permanent.

Less like hiding, more like home.


	2. Chapter 2

She studied his human face, learned its intricacies.

The one she loved had two vastly different faces that were, somehow, exactly the same.

They did not speak much during those first few days- to speak would be to shatter the silence, to speak would mean being found and separated.

If anyone touched him, she would rip their hands from their bodies and give them pictures in their minds to drive a man to madness.

 

..

 

He kept watch, every single night. He never slept; this body wouldn’t tire for months. Rest would have been welcome, though. He had the ability to fall into a state of quiet dream, replaying images and moments through his mind- each tinged with golden light at the edges.

Her safety was more important than rest.

They lived in tandem, two halves of one being- she slept, he knelt at her side. She walked the streets of their small city, he moved with her. She smiled, he mirrored her; she laughed, he did too.

She was his world, his purpose.

She knew this. Though he didn’t show it often and it was difficult to see him, she knew.

 

..

 

They walked side-by-side through the empty streets, a hood over her head and gloves on her hands.

She stopped, he halted a second later and turned to her in question.

She smiled, looking almost… _nervous._

He couldn’t imagine why.

Slowly, she reached for his hand. He kept it at his side, eyes wide and lips parted.

Hooking her smallest finger through his, she turned and kept walking without a backwards glance.

Don’t hide anymore. You don’t have to. Your head is buzzing, your chest is full of love.

She feels the same.

 

..

 

“Vis,” she mumbled.

He looked to her, switched on the lamp on the bedside table to reveal her twitching hands and sleeping features.

“Vis,” she insisted in her sleep, reaching out a hand.

He held out his own, let her twist her fingers around his and pull it beneath her cheek.

He searched her features, looking for any sign of wakefulness. Her eyelids shifted and she moved, curling her body even tighter and crossing her ankles.


	3. Chapter 3

He brought her flowers one day. He hoped she had seen his notes that morning; he didn’t want her to worry.

They passed a florist every time they took an evening stroll through the city, and she had always paused to look through the shop’s window.

He didn’t know what to get her exactly, so he bought the first thing that had caught his eye: a living, potted thing with exactly three wide, rounded leaves and two tall stems with pale violet flowers reaching from the tips. As he neared them, he saw that they weren’t pale violet at all; they were bright white, with purple veins extending from their centers to the ends of the petals.

It was beautiful.

He asked the shopkeeper about it. The elderly man exclaimed his approval, telling him that they would bloom for weeks on end with a bit of care. Vision handed him the payment, cradled the rounded stone bowl in the crook of his arm, and quietly thanked the man for his trouble.

 

..

 

She opened the door at his soft knock with a smile, raising her eyebrows at the sight of his human form with his hands behind his back.

“Vis?”

“Close your eyes.”

She backed into the room and let her eyelids fall. Shutting the door behind him, he turned to her and held out the plant.

“Give me your hands.”

He balanced the pot in one hand, bringing one of hers to the bowl’s surface with the other.

“Hold this. Look out, it’s a bit heavy.”

She brought her other hand to it, her look of amused confusion increasing by the second. He covered her hand with his.

He smiled, eyes crinkling at the edges. “You can look.”

She did, and she gasped, a grin immediately lifting her cheeks and bringing light to her eyes.

“What on  _ earth _ did you do?”

“Happy birthday, Wanda.”

She looked at the flowers, looked up at him, looked back to the flowers. Tears filled her eyes.

“Thank you.”

She lowered the plant in her hands, raised herself up onto her toes, and brushed her lips to his cheek.

 

..

 

“Vis?”

He glanced up from the small pot of pasta he had been focused on stirring, fighting a smile. She had her head poked out of the bathroom door, her face pink and her hair washed flat to her head.

“Did you do the laundry this morning?”

He moved immediately. “My apologies, I must not have put the-“

“It’s fine, Vis,” she insisted, shrinking back behind the door and sticking her arm out through the crack instead. “I just need a towel.”

He picked up two neatly-folded towels and a washcloth from the basket across the room and brought them to her, looking away and holding them out.

Their fingers brushed as she took the bundle from his hands.

“Thank you!”

She slammed the door.

He blinked at the faded wood, turned, and returned to his pasta.

 

..

 

He knelt by her bedside every night, and every night, she brought his hand to her face in her sleep.

It became habit for him to reach out whenever she called his name.

She took advantage of this, beginning to mutter it even while she was still fighting wakefulness.

He was her anchor. Nightmares did not exist with Vision at her side.


	4. Chapter 4

“Why do they celebrate?”

She turned to Vision, who stared calmly out of their only window. Small flakes of white drifted lazily through the air. In the village square below, a group of citizens stood around a large, glittering pine, laughing and clutching steaming beverages in their mittened hands.

“It’s Christmas, Vision.”

“Is it?” he asked, turning from the window.

Wanda nodded.

“I see.” He paused.

Wanda moved from the bed and stopped by his side, lacing her fingers through his and pressing their palms together.

His head snapped up, and a yellow glow flickered from his forehead- something Wanda hadn’t seen in weeks.

He turned to her, concerned.

“I’m sorry, if I knew, I would have-“

She squeezed his hand, silencing him.

“Merry Christmas, Vision.”

A soft smile graced his face.

“And to you.”

 

..

 

Books began appearing on the floor by Wanda’s bedside- a random assortment of titles, from dictionaries in different languages to historical fiction to autobiographies to romance novels.

She picked them up as they appeared, reading each new one with equal intrigue (except for the dictionaries. She left those. One day, they stopped appearing altogether).

She could never quite work out whether Vision was getting the books for her enjoyment or for his. She never saw him reading, but he seemed unperturbed at the fact that books were materializing in their home.

He had to do  _ something  _ at night, she supposed.

 

..

 

“You’re saying that you don’t actually read these?”

Vision shook his head. “Oh no, I do. I read them at the library, and I bring them home if they are worthy.”

She tipped her head, confused. “When do you go to the library?”

“There is a brief time between wakefulness and sleep when you are so deep in your subconscious mind that you do not even notice if I remove my hand.” He looked apologetic. “If you don’t want me to leave, I don’t have to, but I- I figured you might want something to do when you’re not asleep.”

“It’s fine, Vis. Just- just take me with you next time, okay?”

“I will.”

 

..

 

They checked in with Steve, Sam, and Natasha every week.

Still hiding, but what better way was there to hide?


	5. Chapter 5

He brought her to the library- a giant, one-roomed structure with a surprising amount of floor-to-ceiling windows between its many shelves.

He had never been here in the daytime before. Used to phasing through its walls, he had almost forgotten where the front door was.

Wanda loved the place immediately. She beelined for the desk, prepared a library card, and returned to Vision, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she did.

She showed it to him. 

“Ana Shade,” he murmured. He looked to her with a soft smile. “A good name.”

She handed him a second small, plastic card with “Victor Shade” printed on it in small, blocky letters.

“Oh.” He paused, looked to hers. “Oh. Th-thank you.”

She nodded. She reached out a hand, laced her fingers through his, and began to walk among the maze of shelves.

 

..

 

He knelt beside her bed, the stone in his forehead emitting a soft glow just barely bright enough to see the pages of his latest novel. One of his hands rested beneath her cheek, the other turned the pages of the book in his lap. 

“Vis.”

He marked his place with his library card and looked up.

Wanda peered at him through the dark with a small smile on her face. He stroked his thumb over her cheekbone.

“Vis, come here.”

He leaned closer.

She giggled. “That is not what I meant. Vis, come up here.”

He pulled his hand from under her head and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, careful to avoid the lump that was her feet.

She huffed, taking hold of his hand and pulling him down next to her. He resisted for a second, then let himself fall.

He laid absolutely still, not even the slightest bit sure what she was doing.

She laid back down in her pile of blankets, facing away from him.

“You haven’t rested in weeks, Vis,” she mumbled. “Close your eyes.”

“Wanda, I must object-“

She turned to face him. “Vis. I’ll be fine. It’s one night.”

He sighed, nodded gravely. She closed her eyes, and soon, her breathing evened out.

He didn’t sleep that night, though he did close his eyes.

He thought she didn’t notice.

 

..

 

She woke up, and his eyes were still closed. Wanda studied his face, found a slight crease between his brows.

She reached out a fingertip and smoothed it.

His eyes opened slowly- it was too obviously rehearsed. She laughed.

“Nice try, Vis.” She untangled herself from her pile and, walking toward the bathroom, called back, “You’ll sleep tonight, yeah?”

“I will make an effort-“

“No! You’ll sleep!”

She closed the door on his protests.

 

..

 

He began to kneel beside her on the floor. She caught his arm.

He looked at her, and she raised an eyebrow.

A question.

He glanced away, up, and back to her, turning over his decision in his mind.

But what more was there to decide?

He moved to the other side of the bed and laid down as far away from her as he could be.

She turned towards him, pulled a blanket up to her shoulders, and closed her eyes.

Vision let his eyelids fall and immediately began to dream.


	6. Chapter 6

The first time he saw her, he was shocked. Not by her appearance, no; the first time he saw her, he was still developing in the cradle. She reached into his mind and saw only the destruction that Ultron had put there. She did not see him, not yet. He had pained her.

His first memory was her red and glowing rays of curiosity tinged with fear penetrating the cradle.

Beyond that, there was only darkness until he had been born.

He remembered her pain after she had lost her brother, how he had carried her away from the wreckage of the floating city and she had folded herself in his arms like a rag doll, leaning her head against his chest.

He remembered phasing into her room many times to the sound of screams and wails as she kicked and shot red threads of magic into the air around her. He woke her with a gentle word. She saw him, and tears streamed down her face, and he knelt by her bedside and offered her the glass of water that he held in his hand.

 

..

 

Wanda watched him, fascinated. He was perfectly still, hovering just slightly while remaining in his human form. The stone glowed golden.

She reached into his mind and found it, for the first time in a long time, pliable and free.

He was dreaming. He dreamed of her.

 

..

 

He remembered every moment he’d ever spent with her. It was physically impossible for him to forget, but he was grateful for her presence among his memories. They made him feel human.

He thought all the way up to their current living situation, to when she had first turned the key to their two-roomed home and stepped inside, covering her mouth with her hand when he told her it was theirs. She ran to him and threw his arms around him, burying her face in his neck and whispering her thanks.

He thought of their first evening there together, when she had quietly gotten up from before the laptop they had watched a movie on (it had been her choice that night), taken a bundle of clothing from her suitcase, and moved into the bathroom. Vision closed the laptop and pretended to fidget with the stove while she padded to the bed and twisted the blankets around her.

He knelt at her bedside. Once night had fallen and she had long since been asleep, he lightly brushed a fingertip over the back of her hand.

 

..

 

He opened his eyes. She sat beside him, her back against the headboard and her hand resting lightly in his hair.

“My dreams,” he murmured, sitting up next to her. “You walk among them?”

Her brow knit in sudden worry. “Is that alright?”

“Of course, Wanda,” he murmured, raising a hand to her face. She leaned into his palm. “Of course it is.”


	7. Chapter 7

She rested in a petite metal chair beneath an awning outside the bakery, reading her book and sipping steaming, bitter black coffee from a small white mug.

It was a mildly cold winter day, but nothing close to cold that a pair of gloves and a hooded coat couldn’t fix.

Nothing close to Sokovian winters.

She turned a page and glanced around her. No visible threats. She closed her eyes, reached through the streets with her mind.

Safety.

Vision pushed the glass door open, carrying a plated pastry in either hand.

“They think this is madness,” he chuckled. “Sitting outside in the middle of January is, apparently, not something they see very often.”

She smiled, took another sip of coffee. “I enjoy it,” she murmured, glancing out at the snow-laden rooftops. “Not a soul to be found…”

He looked at her for a moment. Beauty, absolute majesty in the way the snow caught in her hair, the way her eyes batted away the dry winter air and her nose turned the slightest shade of pink…

He blinked.

“I f-feel quite the same.”

 

..

 

She cared for her flowers in a way that only she could. She sang quiet songs as she cooked, she hummed while she dusted and cleaned. She walked silently, twirled magic about her fingers while she sat lost in thought.

He knew he was too far gone to keep quiet. He knew he would have to tell her.

Fear clamped his jaw shut and curled his fingers into fists.

She danced and he halted, she twirled and he stood still. He gazed at her through eyes filled with loneliness, she held out a hand and he kept his at his sides.

He fell without a sound, and he hadn’t stopped falling since.

 

..

 

She was _very_ hard to resist when her limbs were heavy with sleep and she mumbled his name without opening her eyes.

Vision laid perfectly still beside her, but she was reaching out an arm to him and beckoning him closer. He didn’t know what to do.

Slowly, carefully, he shifted himself minutely closer to her sleeping form- close enough that her searching hand could curl around his upper arm.

She tugged him even closer, wrapping both of her arms around one of his and laying her head on his shoulder.

She stilled, just like that, and the tension drained from his limbs.

This was alright. This was alright.

 

..

 

Her eyes opened the next morning to soft golden light, a cool touch against her face. Actually, the cool touch extended all the way to her feet.

She blinked awake to see that she had wrapped herself entirely around Vision in her sleep.

Her arms were wound tight, and one of her legs was beneath both of his, the other curled around over them.

She looked up to meet his gaze- bright with amusement and something else entirely.

“I think you slept well.”

She groaned, hiding her face in his shoulder. She could feel his gentle laughter shake through her own body.

So this was love.


	8. Chapter 8

“Vis?”

“Yes, Wanda?”

She padded across the carpet, holding out a hairbrush to him. “I have a knot in my hair. Fix it?”

He blinked. “I’m afraid I- I’m not sure how to-“

“It’s alright, Vis. You can’t hurt me. I just can’t see it to fix it myself.”

She climbed up onto the bed and sat cross-legged, facing away from him and holding the hairbrush over her shoulder.

“I will try my best.” He took the brush and set it aside, running his fingers gently through her thick hair until his fingers caught on the knot.

“I see,” he muttered, picking up the brush.

He was able to brush it out in a few seconds, but after he had smoothed her hair, he didn’t stop brushing through it. Wanda was more relaxed than he had ever seen her- even more than she was while she slept.

“Wanda, I believe I- I got the knot-“

“Do you know how to braid?”

He blinked, taken aback slightly by the question. “Not- I’ve never tried it, per say-“

“Here, I’ll show you.” She separated her hair into three strands at the base of her neck and began to weave them together. Vision watched her hands intently until she reached the ends of her hair. She ran her fingers through the braid, and the rope fell out of place.

“You try.”

Vision reached out and ran his fingers through her hair a few times, eventually creating three even sections and weaving them just as she had- if not a bit more unevenly, a bit more slowly. He reached around her and took her wrist in his hand, tugging off the hairband that she kept there perpetually.

He wrapped the end of the braid, and she leaned back for a moment, pressing against his chest and leaning her head on his shoulder.

The moment passed as quickly as it had begun.

“Thanks, Vis,” she murmured.

With that, she hopped off the bed and returned to the bathroom.

 

..

 

A strangely familiar scent wafted over from their kitchenette. He looked up, watched her as she chopped various vegetables next to a steaming pot of… something he knew.

“Paprikash?”

She looked over her shoulder with a grin. “The vegetarian kind. Made the right way,” she added, turning back to her cutting board.

He laughed softly, setting his latest book aside and stepping across the room. He let his hand brush the back of hers as he reached for the wooden spoon and stirred the pot, the familiar aroma reaching his senses again. He tentatively tasted the spoon.

“Extraordinary,” he murmured.

Her grin widened. “It was my favorite. I made it a lot.”

“I know. I wish I could recreate it to your satisfaction-“

“Come, watch. I will make it, and you can learn.”

 

..

 

He wondered sometimes where his seemingly random bursts of courage originated from, but he came to realize that it was better at such times to shrug off the question and run with it.

The first of these confounding moments occurred on a particularly cold winter evening, the kind where the cold still leaked through the windows even though curtains covered them and their heating unit was overworking itself to keep even a single corner warm.

Wanda was wrapped in every blanket they had, and she still shivered. Vision fussed about the stove, heating water for a mug of cinnamon tea.

He shut off the stove and turned to Wanda, handed her the mug. She swirled the water with the spoon he held out to her.

“Two sugars?”

He nodded.

She murmured her gratitude and sipped the steaming liquid, humming approval at the taste.

Vision moved so that he sat beside her crouched, blanketed form, putting an arm around her and concentrating. He felt his body temperature steadily rise until he was just above what a human would require- just warm enough for her to feel him through the blankets.

She looked to him.

“Vis?”

“Yes, Wanda.”

“I had no idea you could do that.”

“It’s the stone,” he murmured, tapping the soft golden glow on his forehead. “It can do many things.”

“Apparently.” She set aside the empty mug and shuffled even closer to him.

He paused.

He might never get this chance again.

Slowly, he hooked an arm inside her pile of blankets, bringing it around her waist and pulling her close.

“Oh my _god,_ you’re warm.”

He nodded. She reached out a hand and pulled his other arm around her, nudging his leg to her with her foot.

“C’mere.”

“Under- in the- in the blankets?”

“Uh-huh.”

He moved aside her blankets, shifted under them, and re-tucked them around both her and him. He wrapped two blankets around their shoulders, shifting Wanda and himself further down until they laid side-by-side, facing each other, his arms and legs wrapped around her and her arms tucked against his chest.

She closed her eyes, and her breathing evened out.

Vision did not dream- he kept his concentration, kept himself warm throughout the night.

He did let his eyelids fall, however. He listened to her breathing, felt it against his neck, and hugged her closer.

 

..

 

A single pale yellow crocus appeared in their window box one morning.

Vision looked at it in awe. There had been nothing but dirt and dead plant debris in that box the day before- he had seen no sign of life.

“Wanda,” he whispered, turning towards her. She blinked awake, lifted her head groggily at the light filtering through the frosted window.

He strode to her side and tucked his arms beneath her, gently lifting her up with a hand beneath her back and an arm beneath her legs. She squeaked a half-hearted protest and turned her face to his chest as he walked her over to the window.

He rubbed a circle in the thin layer of frost on the glass.

“ _Look,_ ” he whispered.

She turned her head, gazed at the flower for a moment, and turned back to Vision.

She smiled. She reached up and rested a hand against his face, moved it softly to his hair and tugged him down so that his forehead rested against hers.

“I love you,” she whispered.

He searched her gaze, warm and certain.

“I love you, too.”


	9. Chapter 9

He woke up to a piercing pain in his forehead, the room around him lit in a wash of yellow light.

He cringed, curled closer to Wanda, and tried not to scream.

 

..

 

She felt him curl closer to her and untucked her head from beneath his chin.

“Vis?”

“Wand-a- it- the st-one-“ he gasped, eyes tightly shut.

She moved her hand to his forehead and slowly moved it away, glowing red threads of magic reaching between them and through the stone.

She closed her eyes.

“Vis.”

“Yes?”

“You’re- you’re in  _ so  _ much pain-“

“Can you help?”

“I can try.”

She wove her mind through and around the stone, into Vision’s head, releasing the tension there.

He let out a grateful sigh.

“Thank you. Thank you, I don’t know what that was.”

Wanda did not move. Her eyes were wide open, her pupils flicking about, but she saw nothing.

“Wanda?”

She released his mind.

“Something is coming, Vis. Something- something is- Vision-“

“Wanda, please- who, what is coming?”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “It’s far off, it’s nowhere close, but-“

“Wanda, listen to me.” He tipped her chin up with a finger, met her gaze with certainty. “It won’t touch you. I will not let anything hurt you.”

She shook her head, tears spilling onto her cheeks.

“It doesn’t want  _ me _ .”

 

..

 

She woke late the next morning to the smell of coffee and the sizzling sound of something in a pan.

She turned and saw Vision standing by the stove, shifting a pan and occasionally flipping its contents.

She sat up as silently as she could and, careful not to make a sound, moved until she stood just behind him.

She reached around him and touched both his forearms, feather-light. He started. She ran her fingertips down his arms and back up, then stepped to his side and picked up her small cardboard cup of coffee.

She took a sip, watching him over the edge of the cup, her eyes light with amusement.

“G-good morning, Wanda.”

She swallowed, chirped a gentle laugh.

“Good morning.”

 

..

 

Tangled in each other on the bed, backs and heads propped up by a mound of extra blankets and pillows, pretending to pay attention to the movie playing on the laptop at their feet. Vision ran his fingers through Wanda’s hair and Wanda traced patterns on the back of Vision’s other hand.

“Vis?”

“Yes.”

She looked up at him, let out a breath when she saw his half-lidded gaze.

“Can I try something?”

“Anything.”

Her heart stuttered.

She brought a hand to his jaw, moved it up and behind and laced her fingers through his hair.

She gently pulled on his head.

He moved easily.

She tucked his nose beside her own.

She paused, glanced to his eyes. They were closed, his lashes fluttering against his cheeks.

She leaned in, and he closed the gap.

She pulled back a bit after a moment.

“Can I try something else?” she whispered, her breath ghosting across his lips.

“Yes.”

She leaned in, parted her lips just slightly against his. He did the same.

She pulled away.

He searched her gaze. “Thank you.”


	10. Chapter 10

She stood up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. They were not made icy cold by the winter air, as hers were; they were the same cool, smooth touch as always.

She pulled away, a puff of breath enveloping the two of them for a moment. She giggled and covered her mouth with a mittened palm. He smiled softly.

She would always be loved by him, and he would always be loved by her. She realized this in the midst of a whirl of falling snow; he had known it from the moment he first made her laugh.

 

..

 

Winter turned to spring, and the clock ticked on. He grew anxious and more anxious still, waiting for the sky to fall.

She sat on the floor with her back to the bed, untying her boots and setting them aside. He closed the door, ensured it was locked for the night, and moved to her side, extending a hand and smiling when she took it and began to tug him down.

He sat on the edge of the bed next to her, interlacing their fingers and bringing her hand to his face. He placed a gentle kiss on each of her fingers in turn.

“What would you like to do tonight?”

She looked about, feigning a thoughtful expression. “Oh, I don’t know. Sleep, probably.”

“A wise choice.”

She blinked. “Vis.”

“Yes, Wanda.”

”I was kidding, Vis.”

“Ah.” He paused. “I’m afraid I’m not- not particularly-  _ good _ at jokes.”

“I know.” She shifted, pulling him a bit closer and resting her head on his shoulder. “I still love you.”

“Thank you, Wanda.”

She laughed. He didn’t really understand why, but he smiled anyway.

 

..

 

“Wanda,” he whispered, stroking a finger through her hair.

“Mmph.”

“Wanda, are you awake?”

“Mmkind of.” She lifted her head to meet his gaze, blinking in the sudden soft glow of the stone amid the night-shadowed room.

“I love you, too.”

She smiled sleepily, letting her head fall back to where it had been resting on his chest. “Why do you say that, Vis?”

“Because I do, and because I forgot to say it before.”

“Makes sense. Goodnight.”

“Sleep well, Wanda.”

 

..

 

Vision occasionally phased back into his original form, just to make sure that he still could.

Just in case they needed to fight. Just in case they needed to run.

Wanda noticed, but didn’t say anything about it. She understood.


	11. Chapter 11

Brief touches turned to lingering ones, glances turned to gazes. He stopped wondering whether the world really spun or whether they would have enough time.

 

..

 

“Wanda.”

She smiled, but did not look away from her book.

“Vis.”

“Wanda, may I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

He paused.

She closed her book. “Vis, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing at all is wrong, no, it’s just… been on my mind. For quite a while.”

“What has?”

He met her eyes. “Why do you love me, Wanda?”

“Oh.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Well… huh. Vis, okay, there’s not really a… specific reason-“

“It is just a feeling?”

“No, not exactly. I know I love you, Vis. I’ve never questioned why. I guess… you’re my closest friend? Yeah, you are. You take my problems as they are, and you take the rest of me with them. I guess that’s what love is.” She shrugged. “I look at you, and I see my home.”

He nodded. “Thank you, Wanda. I love you too, in the same sense.”

She smiled, opening her book again. He got up from the bed and passed where she sat on the floor, patting her head as he did so.

 

..

 

He rarely went out without her anymore, save for getting breakfast. He needed to surprise her, though.

He wrote out a note on the back of an old grocery store receipt and walked back towards her, placing the note in the middle of her open book. He turned swiftly and left the room to the music of her contented hum.

 

..

 

He turned down all offers of help, preferring to scan the displays himself.

He knew what he was looking for.

He made the purchase, picked up the small velvet box, and held it in his palm for a moment, gazing at it and all of the implications it held.

“I wish you the best, sir.”

Upon responding, his voice was barely above a whisper.

“Thank you.”


	12. Chapter 12

He carried it with him for an entire year, that little box.

He wanted to ask, he so desperately wanted to ask her.

Endless moments passed, and each could have been an opportunity. He never forgot about the box in his pocket. He never lost it or misplaced it, and the thought of it never escaped his mind.

Disaster struck, as he knew it would. He begged her to stay, but he knew even at that moment that a peaceful life with her- the only thing he had ever wanted from the moment he had felt her touch to his mind- was impossible.

He dropped the little box in the street that evening. His life fell apart and his hands ached for purchase, for a piece of his life that he could hold to and never let go.

He knew it wouldn’t happen.

This was the beginning of the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (i’m not crying you’re crying what) Thank you all so, so much for stopping by and giving this fic a chance! Much love and many hugs to you all- goodness knows I need them after finally finishing this fic.
> 
> No matter what happens next, we will always have our memories and our love for these characters.
> 
> \- tinylights


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